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NON .. CIRCULATING
Volume 24, Number 9 December 11, 1995 .- veu Voice
A Publicationfor Faculty and Staffon Virginia Conmwnwealtb University's Academic and Medical College of Virginia Compuses
Chamber Foundation
Gets Grant for Children
veu to Aid in Planning Process
Virginia Commonwealth
University will serve a leader­ship
role in a two-year planning
grant to ensure the health and
safety of children in the
Greater Richmond area. The
$400,000 grant from the Rob­ert
Wood Johnson Foundation
to the Greater Richmond
Chamber of Commerce's Met­ropolitan
Business Foundation
was announced Dec. 5.
A broad-based planning
committee outlined a process
for long-term change in the
provision of health and safety
of children at the December
news conference. Unlike past
human-service projects, this
initiative is unique in that the
chamber was chosen as the
lead agency.
Robert Holsworth, director of
VCU's Center for Public
Policy, also is a member of the
19-member committee.
More than 250 representa-ti
ves from Chesterfield,
Henrico and Hanover counties,
as'well as the city of Richmond,
met in July and in October to
discuss the health and safety of
children in distressed areas.
Those representatives included
parents, youths, neighborhood
leaders, business executives,
religious community leaders
and health professionals, as
well as representati ves from
local governments, universities
and public and private non­profit
agencies.
The committee is led by
Carol Fox, chair-elect of United
Way Services; Robert Grey Jr.,
chair-elect of the Greater Rich­mond
Chamber of Commerce;
Jack Lanier, chair of the De­partment
of Preventi ve
Medicine and Community
Health on VCU's Medical
College of Virginia campus;
and George Musgrove,
Richmond's assistant city
manager for human services.
Those conferences led to
recommendations for short­and
long-term strategies such
as soliciting neighborhood
input; encouraging community
ownership and involvement;
ensuring the relevance of ex­isting
programs; providing
services through neighborhood!
community centers; develop­ing
a communitywide database
of available services; and cre­ating
a compelling vi sion and
implementation plan that fo-
VCU faculty, staff and students celebrated the season in
early December. Clockwise from right: Storyteller Marvel
Straughter Abayoni-Cole explains Kwanzaa's traditions.
Mercedes Williamson of the MCV Child Core Center helps
Heather Mitchell sing a solo. Students Bob Feezor, Imam
lliilliams and Shirley Chris/ian sample holiday cuisine at
the VCU Celebrates the Holiday program at Sanger Hall.
Please see GRANT, page 2
Student News Service Reports on Capital to Virginia Papers
Seniors
of the Capital News Service staff, interviewed Sen.
Joseph B. Benedetti, R-Richmond, at Republican
headquarters on election night in November.
JOVANOV1C. JOHN
UL S: GGVE RNMENT
P.O. BOX 842033
S
by Kyra Scarton Newman
editor
When the Virginia General Assembly convenes
for its 1996 session, legislators won't be the only
individuals reporting news from the state capital to
their home districts. For the second year, advanced
journalism students in Virginia Commonwealth
University'S Capital News Service will track legisla­tors
and provide coverage to community newspapers
throughout the state.
Modeled after programs in Maryland and Ken­tucky,
the service was established in January 1994 to
help Virginia's community newspapers in covering
the General Assembly and other state-government
issues. Many of those papers cannot afford to send
reporters to the state capital during the legislative
DOC lHEN'S
#
session, and many do not subscribe to a wire service.
"I would have put our news service up against any
news service in the capital during the past General
Assembly session," said Wilma Wirt, director and
bureau chief of Capit3J News Services.
In the past, some community newspapers would
send a staff reporter to Richmond for only a day or
two during the session or a media group would pro­vide
one journalist to write general articles for all its
papers. While some newspapers still do this, espe­cially
for heated local topics, a growing number of
editors are relying on Capital News Service members
for day-to-day - often localized - coverage.
"They have contributed probably the best range of
coverage that we have ever had in Richmond for our
16 papers in Northern Virginia," said Arthur
Please see CAPITAL, page 2

NON .. CIRCULATING
Volume 24, Number 9 December 11, 1995 .- veu Voice
A Publicationfor Faculty and Staffon Virginia Conmwnwealtb University's Academic and Medical College of Virginia Compuses
Chamber Foundation
Gets Grant for Children
veu to Aid in Planning Process
Virginia Commonwealth
University will serve a leader­ship
role in a two-year planning
grant to ensure the health and
safety of children in the
Greater Richmond area. The
$400,000 grant from the Rob­ert
Wood Johnson Foundation
to the Greater Richmond
Chamber of Commerce's Met­ropolitan
Business Foundation
was announced Dec. 5.
A broad-based planning
committee outlined a process
for long-term change in the
provision of health and safety
of children at the December
news conference. Unlike past
human-service projects, this
initiative is unique in that the
chamber was chosen as the
lead agency.
Robert Holsworth, director of
VCU's Center for Public
Policy, also is a member of the
19-member committee.
More than 250 representa-ti
ves from Chesterfield,
Henrico and Hanover counties,
as'well as the city of Richmond,
met in July and in October to
discuss the health and safety of
children in distressed areas.
Those representatives included
parents, youths, neighborhood
leaders, business executives,
religious community leaders
and health professionals, as
well as representati ves from
local governments, universities
and public and private non­profit
agencies.
The committee is led by
Carol Fox, chair-elect of United
Way Services; Robert Grey Jr.,
chair-elect of the Greater Rich­mond
Chamber of Commerce;
Jack Lanier, chair of the De­partment
of Preventi ve
Medicine and Community
Health on VCU's Medical
College of Virginia campus;
and George Musgrove,
Richmond's assistant city
manager for human services.
Those conferences led to
recommendations for short­and
long-term strategies such
as soliciting neighborhood
input; encouraging community
ownership and involvement;
ensuring the relevance of ex­isting
programs; providing
services through neighborhood!
community centers; develop­ing
a communitywide database
of available services; and cre­ating
a compelling vi sion and
implementation plan that fo-
VCU faculty, staff and students celebrated the season in
early December. Clockwise from right: Storyteller Marvel
Straughter Abayoni-Cole explains Kwanzaa's traditions.
Mercedes Williamson of the MCV Child Core Center helps
Heather Mitchell sing a solo. Students Bob Feezor, Imam
lliilliams and Shirley Chris/ian sample holiday cuisine at
the VCU Celebrates the Holiday program at Sanger Hall.
Please see GRANT, page 2
Student News Service Reports on Capital to Virginia Papers
Seniors
of the Capital News Service staff, interviewed Sen.
Joseph B. Benedetti, R-Richmond, at Republican
headquarters on election night in November.
JOVANOV1C. JOHN
UL S: GGVE RNMENT
P.O. BOX 842033
S
by Kyra Scarton Newman
editor
When the Virginia General Assembly convenes
for its 1996 session, legislators won't be the only
individuals reporting news from the state capital to
their home districts. For the second year, advanced
journalism students in Virginia Commonwealth
University'S Capital News Service will track legisla­tors
and provide coverage to community newspapers
throughout the state.
Modeled after programs in Maryland and Ken­tucky,
the service was established in January 1994 to
help Virginia's community newspapers in covering
the General Assembly and other state-government
issues. Many of those papers cannot afford to send
reporters to the state capital during the legislative
DOC lHEN'S
#
session, and many do not subscribe to a wire service.
"I would have put our news service up against any
news service in the capital during the past General
Assembly session" said Wilma Wirt, director and
bureau chief of Capit3J News Services.
In the past, some community newspapers would
send a staff reporter to Richmond for only a day or
two during the session or a media group would pro­vide
one journalist to write general articles for all its
papers. While some newspapers still do this, espe­cially
for heated local topics, a growing number of
editors are relying on Capital News Service members
for day-to-day - often localized - coverage.
"They have contributed probably the best range of
coverage that we have ever had in Richmond for our
16 papers in Northern Virginia" said Arthur
Please see CAPITAL, page 2